


A dream is a wish the heart makes

by Moera



Series: Cinderella au [1]
Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Cinderella Fusion, Angst with a Happy Ending, Disney References, Full Shift Werewolves, Happy Ending, M/M, Magic, Male Cinderella, Prince Theo Raeken
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-18
Updated: 2020-03-12
Packaged: 2021-02-27 08:55:24
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 5,361
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22304515
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Moera/pseuds/Moera
Summary: Prompt: "What if there's like a Cinderella Thiam au. But instead Liam is a werewolf and his evil stepmom is offering him a house and safety if he does chores. And the king and queen (Theo's parents) don't allow werewolves in the kingdom, so they're being hunted. They fall in love, but because of jealousy, Liam's stepmom and sisters threaten to expose him"
Relationships: Liam Dunbar/Theo Raeken
Series: Cinderella au [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1669333
Comments: 34
Kudos: 60





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * For [xSophie2x](https://archiveofourown.org/users/xSophie2x/gifts).



> A big thank you to Sophie for prompting this months ago. I really hope you enjoy this :)

In a world full of prejudices against anything that is not considered ‘normal’, it’s common that most kingdoms hunt supernatural creatures. That’s why many of them have went into hiding, as did Liam Dunbar. He’s a werewolf and would be killed on sight if anyone knew. Well, the family he lives with, the Romero's, they know what he is. Liam has to do chores for them, feeding the animals, cleaning the house, the usual stuff that needs to be done. In exchange for that Liam is allowed to stay with them in their home and they keep his supernatural status a secret. 

Liam is on his way through the kingdom, running some errands for the Romero’s, when he sees it. It would’ve been a simple flyer, not different than any of the others that hang at almost every wall. Except that this one wears the sign of the Raekens, the royal family and ruler of the Kingdom of Beacon Hills. 

The flyer announces the 18th birthday party of the price, Theo Raeken, and that it’s open for anyone that wants to to attend. Liam can’t believe what that means. He has heard many stories about the Raekens parties. Not that he’s ever been to any, but the daughters of the Romero's - Hayden and Tracy - regularly attend them. They like to rub under Liam’s nose how great these parties are, knowing that he will never get to attend one himself. They have made it clear since the beginning. He is allowed to stay with them under the condition of keeping his distance to the royal family. 

But this, a party where everyone is allowed to attend, that’s exactly what he hoped for. A chance to see the royal family with his own eyes. He knows it might be dangerous, there’s a chance other people will notice he’s not entirely human. And he has to be careful that his damn ‘sisters’ don’t see him there. He can’t risk being hunted down just because they expose him to the entire town. Liam pockets the flyer and continues to run errands for the Romero’s.

* * *

It’s a few days later when he meets with his best friend Mason Hewitt, who is a magician. He can easily disguise his power if he needs to. He’s also one of the few supernaturals that still live in the city, hiding his otherness from everyone else. They quickly became friends, giving excuses to noisy neighbours if one of them was acting strangely because of the moon. Liam approaches his friend, asking if he knows of any spell that will help disguise how he looks like.

“Yeah, I know of such a spell. But what would you need it for?”, Mason wants to know. Liam is sure that his friend wouldn’t deny helping him, he’s just curious. Looking out for his best friend as they always do.

Liam holds out the flyer for him. The paper is already wrinkled from the many times Liam opened and closed it again. “The Raeken’s are having a party that’s open for everyone to attend.”

“And you wanted to go to one since practically forever”, Mason teases.

Liam whines, “So will you help me get into there unnoticed?”

Mason smiles happily at him. “Of course, I will. What are best friends for? Besides I’m going to come with you. That will be so much fun!” 

The rest of the evening is spent with buying new clothes they can wear at the party and agreeing to meet up at Mason’s place the next day. 

Liam goes home feeling excited for the next day, though he’s trying not to let it show. It would only make the Romeros suspicious and he needs them to think that everything is the same as always. He barely gets any sleep this night, partly because he’s doing the work he should be doing while the others are attending the party, partly because he’s anxious about the next day. It’s still dark outside when he finally falls asleep, exhaustion winning out over his excitement.

The Romeros are gone after breakfast. Apparently Hayden and Tracy need new clothes to impress Prince Theo. As it’s Theo’s 18th birthday coming up his parents expect him to pick a partner he wants to marry so he can one day take his fathers place and rule over the kingdom. 

That gives Liam enough time to finish the last of his chores. He makes it to Mason’s with enough time to spare. The clothes he wants to wear tonight are in a simple bag, not wanting anyone to be able to identify him on the basis of his clothes.

When he's at Mason's he gets into his new clothes. After he inspected himself in a mirror, satisfied with how he looks, he finally joins Mason in his kitchen where he prepared the potion that will alter their looks. 

"This potion will disguise everything about us but our eye color, that way we're able to still recognize each other. Fair warning, it tastes worse than it smells. But you need to drink all of it or the spell might run out too soon." Mason hands him a small vial with a purple shimmering liquid. 

“To a wonderful night out” “Cheers”

Both boys down the potion in one gulp, their faces scrunched up in disgust. 

Their appearances slowly start to change. There’s no stereotypical glitter or rush of wind, it kinda looks like their faces shift into that of another person. There’s just what feels like prickling under his skin. Liam’s jaw gets a bit sharper, his lips a bit fuller and his hair turns into a dark brown, whereas Mason’s face gets a bit slimmer though you can barely see it because stubble grows along his jaw.

Liam looks at him at first a bit shocked but then he has a huge grin on his face. “Dude! You should definitely keep the beard after tonight is over.”

Mason smiles at the compliment before his expression is changed to one of mischief. “Okay, so now that the worst part is over, let’s get to the fun part.” 

Shortly after Mason has changed into new clothes and they both check their reflection in the mirror. Mason has insisted that Liam wears eyeliner and he has to admit, along with his darker hair, the black lines really bring out the blue of his eyes. 

The sun is starting to set when they leave to get to the castle where the party is held. The castle is full of light and loud music. Inside, there are already a lot of people dancing, whereas other stand at the bar, ordering drinks. Liam is stunned when he sees how expensive the interior must’ve been. But what else would you expect from the king and queen of Beacon Hills. Still, it’s his first time actually inside the castle so he allows himself to look around, taking everything in. Mason next to him doesn’t fare any better if you know where to look for the signs. 

They spot a few other supernaturals that were brave enough to attend the party and join them at the dance floor. As the night wears on they dance to many songs, talking in between when they get something to drink or eat from the buffet. It’s an hour to midnight when the music gets slower and only the couples stay to dance. 

Liam wants to leave the dancefloor, looking to Mason who dances with a stranger, when a hand around his arm stops him. He wants to turn around and tell the person off when he stops in shock. He was stopped by none other than Prince Theo Raeken. Liam can’t quite believe it but he looks more beautiful up close. Chuckling in front of him makes him come back to reality, quickly closing his mouth that fell open without him noticing.

“Glad to see you’re back with me. I asked if you wanted to share the next dance with me?” Prince Theo smiles hopefully at him. And god his voice. It should be illegal to have such a nice voice in Liam’s opinion. But he agrees quickly, hoping not to make a fool out of himself in front of the prince. 

As the night goes on, Liam and Prince Theo share several dances with each other. They talk and laugh and it feels like heaven, at least to Liam. The current song comes to an end when the chimes of the big bell he has seen earlier count down to midnight and therefor to Prince Theo’s birthday. The world around him seems to stop when Prince Theo brings his face closer to Liam’s and closes his eyes. 

Liam is ready to be kissed by him when he feels the prickling under his skin again and panic begins to set in.  _ Shit shit shit! The spell must be running out. I can’t stay here, _ Liam thinks. His eyes start to water.  _ Why can’t I be normal? _ He asks himself. He whispers a sorry, to which the Prince opens his eyes and looks at him confused. And then Liam runs. 

  
  



	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Trigger warning: There will be a minor death reference in this chapter. Though I hope it's not triggering to anyone I upped from teens to mature audience. So just skip the one block of Liam talk about his parents if you don't want to read it.
> 
> Still, I hope you will enjoy this new chapter

Tears stream down Liam’s face as he runs. He doesn’t has any direction in mind, the only thing he can focus on is to get away from the castle as fast as he can. He desperately hopes that nobody has seen him changing his appearance ‘cause then he wouldn’t be the only one in trouble. The royal hunters would want to know who cast the spell and therefor Mason would be in danger as well.  _ “I shouldn’t have dragged him in this mess” _ , he thinks bitterly. 

His feet bring him to the edge of the forest surrounding the city. He doesn’t think before he slips out of his clothes, shifts into his wolf form and runs. Runs until the pain in his muscles overshadows the pain his heart feels. Runs until his mind is finally, blissfully silent. 

Though he doesn’t want to stop, he has to as his legs threaten to give out at any moment. He lies down on the soft forest ground, panting, trying to regain his breath. But with nothing to distract himself anymore he can’t stop the thoughts from crashing in on him again. He’s angry. A bit at himself for being stupid enough to think he could enjoy an evening in the castle. 

But most of his anger is directed at the king and queen and everyone else who still think supernaturals deserve to be killed just because they’re different. But that’s human nature. They are afraid of the things they don’t know. And instead of trying to understand the thing they are afraid of, they decided it was easier to just kill them. Regardless if they ever did anything wrong, not caring if the supernatural was an adult or still a child. Liam felt sick to his stomach as he is reminded of what happened to his family. 

They lived peacefully at the edge of a small city, stayed to themselves in fear of anything happening to them. And then came the hunters. They killed his father first, making his mother watch. Liam was hidden in a closet where his mother told him to stay as they saw the hunters approaching. They killed his mother after that, not caring that she was pregnant with his sister. They even gloated that they stopped her before she could bring another supernatural being into this world. After that Liam opened the secret exit at the back of the closet and ran. He ran until he couldn’t anymore. He had tried to survive on his own, but he was still to small to hunt anything that could satisfy his growing hunger. He was on the verge of starvation, his body already shifted back as he couldn’t uphold the shift anymore, when the Romero’s found them. He never understood why they never killed him but he’s grateful for it. 

Thinking of them makes him come back to reality. He has to get back before they notice that he isn’t there. So he slowly gets up, stretches his sore muscles and makes his way back.

When he gets there, already in human form and dressed again, he notices with relief that the lights inside the house are still turned off and no heartbeat, except that of the animals can be heard. That means he can directly go to bed and hide until morning without having to put up a facade for everyone. It takes a long time before he falls asleep, his thoughts still circling around the same topic: the almost kiss with Prince Theo.

The next morning comes way to early for Liam’s taste. He hasn’t gotten much sleep, the thought of the past hours still keeping him awake. As much as he dreads to leave his bed, he knows he has to. It’s morning, so he has to do his daily chores and pretend that everything is okay. 

The first hour of him being awake passes without any incidents, the Romero’s still sound asleep after last night. But even they have to get up at some point and that’s when the real struggle starts. Hayden and Tracy are eating their breakfast and retelling the events of last night. Liam tries to ignore them for the most part as he cleans up the utensils used for their breakfast. But one thing they’re discussing gets his attention. Apparently many people saw him and Prince Theo almost kissing and now people are curious as to why he ran. Liam’s shoulders tense though he instantly forces himself to relax them and continue cleaning. He let’s out a quiet sigh of relief as he realizes that nobody knows who the guy was.  _ So at least nobody will know that it was me,  _ Liam thinks. If he’s honest with himself he doesn’t likes that he had to change his appearance with Mason’s help, just to enjoy an evening out. But sadly, that’s how life is these days.

The following days continue in the same way they did before the party. Liam still does chores for the Romero’s, though he’s spending more of his free time in the forest. Feeling the wind ruffle through his hair and hearing all different kinds of animals running through the undergrowth makes him relax. He feels more like himself when he’s not surrounded by humans, not afraid he might slip up and reveal his supernatural half.

He also shifts more often and takes long runs avoiding the trails when his thoughts get to be to much for him. He just can’t get the prince out of his head. They seemed to have so much in common when they talked during the dance. But in the end, even if Prince Theo liked him, his parents and most of the town’s people would still want to see his head rolling. So he tries to get over the feelings and forget about the day, pretend it never happened.

Liam stops at a small lake that’s hidden deep in the forest to satisfy his thirst. A rustling of clothes makes him realize that he’s not alone and he freezes. After a few seconds when nothing happens, he slowly lifts his head to see who must’ve gotten lost and ended up here. Because they are so far off the trails that humans rarely end up here. Liam almost freezes a second time when he looks into familiar eyes. Eyes that he could get lost in within seconds, eyes which had closed in preparation to kiss him. 

Prince Theo is sitting a small distance away from him, leaning against the think trunk of an old tree. His eyes are trained on Liam, a look of wonder in them. Liam turns around and just wants to run away, just like he did during this fateful night when Prince Theo stops him. “Stop! Please! You don’t have to be afraid of me. I’m not going to hurt you”

At the tone of honesty in his voice Liam turns around and faces him again.  _ You would hurt me if you knew who I was. Or at least your family would,  _ Liam thinks sadly, dejectedly. He wants to leave again when the prince once again speaks up. This time though he whispers, so soft Liam would have trouble to understand him if he were human. “Please stay. I don’t want to be alone.”

Liam considers his options for a moment, though he knows deep down that the choice is already made. He can’t deny the prince anything. So he decides to stay with him. But to keep up the charade of him being just a simple wolf, he goes back to the lake to take another drink and then lies down on the ground, which is warmed by the sun streaming through the leaves of the trees above. His head is lying on his paws, eyes closed as he lets the princes voice wash over him. He doesn’t look at the prince as he starts talking to him, but he enjoys hearing this beautiful voice talking to him again. If he could, he would freeze this moment in time because he doesn’t want it to end. 

Sadly the moment does end when the prince declares he should get back home. “Thank you for staying, I really enjoyed it. I hope I will see you again someday.” 

With a sad look in his eyes Liam watches him go, disappearing behind the trees.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is the last chapter of this cinderella AU. I hope you will enjoy it :)

In the following days Liam goes to the lake as often as he can. He does his chores half-heartedly, his mind always circling around the prince. 

He’s at Mason’s, just wanting to spend some time with his best friend. He hopes to get his head free of the prince at least for a few hours, but Mason wouldn’t be his best friend if he wouldn’t know something was up with him. And like true best friends do, he sees right through his bullshit.

“Liam look, I’m glad to spend time with you, you know that. But I’m also your best friend so I know when something is wrong. Please, talk to me, Li.” He sits down next to his friend. 

Liam gives his friend a crooked smile. He knows he is really lucky to have such a good friend that cares about his well-being. “You remember the Raeken party a few days ago? Well, something happened there.”, he starts to explain, but stops there.

In true best friend fashion Mason already knows what he wants to say but doesn’t has the words for. “You fell for him, didn’t you?”

A lie is already on the tip of Liam’s tongue but he swallows it down. Mason would know he lied, he always does. So he just nods his head once, eyes still cast downwards. “How did you know?”, he instead wants to know.

“I saw you two dancing together. I don’t remember a time where I saw you smiling so much”, Mason explains, voice still soft. “So.. what do you want to do about it?”

“What do you mean ‘what do I want to do about it’? Who says I want to do something about it?” Liam tries to deflect.

Mason’s smile gets bigger. “I know you, Li. You always go after what you want. Have you seen him since?”

Liam smiles sheepishly at his best friend. “Actually, yeah I did.”

Masons gasps at him. “Liam Dunbar! You saw your crush and didn’t immediately tell me about it? How could you?”, Mason asks, fake betrayal in his voice, hand clasped over his heart.

Liam laughs and tells the story how he met Prince Theo in his wolf form.

~~~

Liam meets Theo a few times during the following weeks. While he has made it his habit to sneak into the forest every day after his chores are done, Theo only joins him once or twice a week. He can’t deny that he enjoys seeing the prince so often but after the first times where Theo only seemed to make small talk, it got more personal soon. Prince Theo told him about his relationship with his parents. They were much closer when Theo was just a kid but since a few years ago, when Theo started to think for himself and question the things he was taught, their relationship had suffered. 

The Prince seemed lost in long passed memories, his gaze unseeing. So Liam slowly crept towards the prince, hoping not to scare him and stopped only when he was within arms length of the prince. “Oh Fluffles, I’m so happy that I’ve met you. You always listen without criticizing me”, he says, slowly running his hands through Liam’s fur. 

He had started calling him Fluffles a few encounter ago. Apparently he didn’t want to keep calling him “wolf” in his mind, so Fluffles it was. It made Liam smile internally every time the prince called him that. It made their encounter feel that much more intimate. Like they really had a connection.

Theo looks wistfully at Liam, whispering “I just wish you would shift back so I could actually talk to you, you know?”

Liam freezes at that. How had the prince figured out that he was not a normal wolf?  _ Shit! What the hell should I do now? Should I stay here or run away as fast as I can? _ Liam’s inner panic is only interrupted when he realizes that prince Theo is still petting him. He tries to calm his breathing and cautiously risks a glance at the prince. Prince Theo is looking at him with what seems like a sad look in his face. 

Liam is conflicted. The Prince really seems to want to talk to him. But should he shift back and reveal himself? He knows how the royals think about anything that isn’t completely human. But the Prince is different than that! Right? He doesn’t know what to think of him. Liam remembers that Prince Theo often complains about the intolerance of his parents. But how can he be sure that those aren’t just empty words? He has to be sure ‘cause otherwise he’s risking not only his life. The life of every other supernatural he has got to know during the last years are at stake too. 

“I already told you about the tense relationship I have with my parents. But I never really told you why it all started going downhill. Maybe knowing will help you realize I’m on your side and that I don’t agree with what my parents have done to countless supernaturals out there. Told their soldiers to do to innocent people.” He sighs, once again getting this faraway look in his eyes, meaning he’s seeing whatever happened in front of his inner eye play out again. 

“I was still young, maybe eight or nine years old, and was running through the halls of the palace. I was told to stay away from the corridor my father’s office was in. But I was just a kid, I didn’t think anything would happen. I sneaked up, could already see my father sitting behind this massive desk in his chair, talking to some of his men. I didn’t think anything about it, I just wanted to surprise my dad, hoping to see him smile when he finally notices me. I stood next to a pillar, half hidden behind it and listened to what the general told my father.

The general told him about a family of werewolves living in one of the neighbouring villages and how nobody did anything against them. I didn’t think much of it at that time because I was taught since before I can remember that werewolves and other supernatural creatures should be hunted or else they would hunt us. 

The general continued, told him everything he could find out about the family that lived there. About how it was a family of three, a father, a pregnant mother and their four year old son living there. He asked on advice on how they should deal with that situation. My father told him to kill them all, he didn’t care if they were innocent. He was fine with sending his men to kill these people, kill a child and a pregnant women, just because they could’ve been dangerous.

My father then dismissed his men and told me to come inside since I already heard more than I should have. I asked him why the woman and the child should be killed too since I was always taught to keep woman and children out of the fighting. But he said that rule only applied to humans. And since they weren’t human, the rule didn’t apply to them. I tried arguing that they haven’t caused anyone any harm but my father wouldn’t listen. He just looked at me with a disappointed look in his eyes and told me I would understand when I was older. But even when I got older I didn’t understand him. How can you just condemn an entire species just because they could someday become dangerous to you? It was unfair to those that just wanted to live their lives in peace. 

After that day nothing was the same. My father still looked at me with this disappointed look in his eyes. He and mom fought more often but only when they thought they were alone. Now they want me to pick someone to marry and take my father’s place. But how can I take his place and pretend to be happy when I know so many people out there, innocent people, are suffering because of my family? I just don’t know what to do! I want to help these people but I’m just a prince and as long as my father’s still king, I can’t change the laws. Only he has that kind of power and he won’t listen to reason. I’m just so frustrated and angry at him!”

Liam whines, ripping Prince Theo out of his rant, back into the present. He nudges his nose against the prince’s hand until he starts petting him again. Prince Theo slowly calms down at the contact. He still doesn’t know who he is actually petting but he doesn’t care. He had needed to get this out for a long time and it now feels like a massive weight has been lifted of his shoulders. 

The prince is looking at him when he asks “You are the son whose family was killed, am I right?” Liam’s wince is answer enough as Prince Theo buries his head in the wolfs fur and starts muttering apologies. Apologizes on behalf of his father, promises to do everything he can so no other supernatural has to go through the hell the boy in front of him obviously went through. 

~~~

The days passed like a blur after that. Liam hasn’t shifted back the last time he saw the prince and he has avoided the forest ever since. He just doesn’t know how to deal with everything the Prince has brought up again. The wound never really healed, just scarred over. And now it feels as fresh as ever, burning a hole in his chest, right where his heart’s supposed to be.

Liam feels like he’s lost. It doesn’t really feel like his mind is still connected to his body. It feels like he’s someone on the outside, witnessing what his body does without being able to do anything to intervene. At least that’s what it feels like when he feels his body walking into the forest, in his human form this time. His mind is screaming at him to stop, that it is a very bad idea but his feet won’t listen to him.

He knows exactly where he’s going and though he feels happiness inside himself at the idea of seeing the prince again, he can’t help the part that feels absolutely terrified of the idea of meeting Prince Theo in his human form. Nobody except them ever walked far enough into the forest to get to the lake they usually meet at. He would’ve known because he would’ve been able to smell them. But all he ever smelled where the mixed scent of him and the prince. Though he doesn’t want to admit it to anyone, not even himself, he really likes the way their scents get tangled up in each other and create this new smell that screamed home at him like almost nothing has since the night he lost his family. He’s afraid of what it will mean for him.

Liam’s relieved and disappointed at the same time when he gets to the lake and finds himself alone. Prince Theo is nowhere in sight and judging by the fading scent he hasn’t been here in quite some time. The hurt he feels turns his face into a grimace and tears sting in his eyes. He doesn’t know what he hoped would happen when he got here in his human form. He just knows it hurts like a bitch. 

He’s about to turn around when he hears a crack behind him, like someone snapped a twig. His head spins in the direction of the noise and he concentrates his senses on the person getting closer with every second. The scent coming from the person getting nearer is one he would recognize everywhere. The feelings it wakes in him are just so unique.

Prince Theo is walking towards him and he doesn’t know what to do. A part of him wants to run away. But another part, the bigger one, wants to see how this will turn out. Liam decides to sit down, facing halfway towards Theo, halfway towards the lake. Playing it casual. He’s glad Theo doesn’t has advanced hearing because his heart is beating like crazy.

Prince Theo is sitting down a few meters away from him, facing him head on. “Hey Fluffles. Good to see that you took my advice. Finally we can have an actual conversation and not just me monologuing.” Liam sees Prince Theo’s smile out of the corner of his eyes. 

Apparently Liam takes too long to answer because the prince started talking again. “I had hoped to see you here again because I have great news to tell you.” He’s still looking at Liam, a happy expression on his face. “My father has decided to step back from the throne so he can spend more time he has left with my mother. Meaning I will get the crown sooner than I thought I would. My father will still be there in the background, giving advice as he sees fit. The good thing is that he can’t interfere anymore when I want to issue a law, or change an existing one.” Here his eyes are practically shining with excitement. “So I can finally change the laws concerning supernaturals and how they should be treated.”

Liam is stunned speechless. He heard what Prince Theo has said but he can’t quite believe it, yet. Questions are running through his mind at high speed. He wants to bring them into a semblance of order but instead they spill out of his lips one after the other. “Okay, wow. That’s a lot to take in right now. I know what you said about what happened to you when you were younger. But why would you risk so much for supernaturals? Why are you so calm about knowing I am one. And how did you even know that I was Fluffles?”

Liam’s cheeks are flushed red because he barely took the time to take a breath between the sentences. He always starts to ramble when he’s nervous. And he’s very much nervous right now, talking to the Prince for the first time since the party.

Prince Theo smiles affectionately at him and lets him catch his breath. “There’s still one thing I haven’t told you about me. I needed to know you wouldn’t freak out. I’m still not sure how you’re going to react but I need to finally get it out.” He closes his eyes, takes a deep breath and opens them again. 

His eyes flash the gold of a werewolf.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So who would've thought that Prince Theo was a werewolf too? I have to admit it was a pretty spontaneous idea, but I have to say I like it. Feel free to let me know what you think about it :)


End file.
